A Battle for Identities-Chat Noir and Hawkmoth
by astridzeogearfried
Summary: This is if Miraculous Ladybug finally took a more serious turn. Based on what every fan has been dying to see with Chat Noir/Adrien and going off the 'Gabriel is Hawkmoth' theory, it has the same kind of dark tone as some Gravity Falls episodes. I've been wanting to see these kinds of episodes for a long time, so I decided to write it myself.
1. Chapter 1

"Jacques! It's been so long!" Marinette's father exclaimed, walking up to an old friend of his in chef's attire.

"It certainly has, Tom. I see you haven't changed a bit!" The very slender, red haired man replied joyfully.

"Well you don't exactly shrink when you're making sure your desserts are worthy of the customers." Tom nudged Jacques with his elbow. The two men looked to be exact opposites but clearly had the same profession. Marinette came downstairs from her room after being called down by her parents to meet an apparent acquaintance of her father's.

"Marinette, I'd like you to meet my former college roommate back in culinary school!" Her dad spoke eagerly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Marinette politely replied, reaching her hand out for him to shake which he took gladly.

"He's in town for the big bake-off! The winning baker is awarded a very high paying job as the Agreste family's personal chef since their last one apparently made some kind of incompetent mistake." Marinette blushed immediately after hearing the name Agreste, Adrien popped into her head.

"Could I enter the competition?" Marinette asked hopefully. Her father chuckled in response.

"Sorry, sweety. It's for adults, you're still in school and if I were you, I wouldn't be so hyper to enter the business world so young." He told her with a pat on the back and Marinette pouted.

"So, are you competing, dad?" She asked with a raised eyebrow of curiosity. Again, a chuckle followed as the beginning of his response.

"No, I've already got THIS place. It's just Jacques here who's playin' the game." Her dad answered turning back to face the tall and lanky man.

"Well, That and I wanted to warm up by having my own little contest with you, Tom. C'mon just like we used to back in the dorm!" Jacques nudged with a look of excitement. There was a pause between the two that bordered on awkward for Marinette before all of a sudden, the OPEN sign for the bakery was being flipped over to CLOSED. Marinette couldn't help but sigh with a smile and giggle a bit at how childish her father and his friend had become as looks of determination were exchanged. She just walked back upstairs to talk with Alya since she had nothing better to do.

Meanwhile…

"Seems a bit odd that father is having a competition for this. Normally he'd just get Nathalie to interview the candidates. What do you think, Plagg?" Adrien asked his little kwami cat friend who was munching on cheese.

"I don't know, how about you just use the free time you have right now to go to the park? You still have a whole two hours to kill before your next photoshoot." Plagg pitched as he tossed another chunk of camembert

"You're right, Plagg! It's nice out and anything's better than wasting away on my bed just waiting for my next appointment! Let's go!" Adrien excitedly told him, Plagg finished eating his last piece of cheese and promptly flew to Adrien's open jacket. Before his hand was able to turn the knob to the front door of the mansion, Nathalie put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Adrien, but your father would prefer you stay until the photoshoot is done." She told him with a saddened expression to go along with his shocked expression.

"But, there's still two whole hours until they arrive!" Adrien protested.

"He said no. I'm just the messenger, you are to stay at home." Instead of getting sad at this news from Nathalie, Adrien simply got mad.

"I'm always a prisoner here! It would just be a little walk in the park!" Nathalie gave him a stern look in response to this as Adrien just pouted, heading back to his room with a grunt.

He slammed the door behind him as Plagg came out just to see Adrien smirking.

"What's with that look?" Plagg questioned.

"Maybe Adrien can't leave the house, but nothing was said of Chat Noir being bound to a bedroom!" He told his kwami with excitement, Plagg just shrugged flashing a mischevious smile right back.

"Well? Are we going or not?" Plagg asked.

"Plagg Transform Me!" Adrien shouted and Plagg was sucked into the white ring, turning it black as he transformed into Chat Noir.

He took out his staff, hopped onto the edge of the open window and jumped out.

~Meanwhile~

Marinette could hear her father and Jacques laughing hardily with each other, trying to ignore the obnoxious laughter, she continued talking to Alya.

"You know, you sound a little exhausted, Marinette. Are your dad and his friend really that aggravating?" Alya questioned. Though she couldn't see her, Marinette waved dismissively and collapsed onto her bed before responding.

"No, no,...it's not that. But I do feel totally wiped. Yesterday was pretty tiring." The last Akuma Ladybug had faced was from the night before, he was able to clone himself so her and Chat Noir were fighting for one whole hour, facing dozens of clones before eventually getting to the roof of the hotel. By the time the akuma was caught, it was nearly 2 AM, with only a few minutes to spare before the duo would de-transform, Ladybug had to get home which was only about a minute or two away by yo-yo travel, but it felt like an eternity before she changed back and her and Tikki both collapsed on the bed and passed out. However, the bakery opens at 7 AM and her parents had given Marinette the responsibility of running the shop for a day so she's been sluggish since Tikki forced her to get up.

"I-I was running a lot of errands for my dad and ended up staying up late listening to music and reading." She lied.

"Yeah, that does sound rather exhausting. Meanwhile I was busy too! Catching the latest footage of Ladybug and Chat Noir's fight last night." Alya told her excitedly, Marinette had to act surprised at this, of course.

"Really? How did it go? It's a shame I missed it..." She told her.

"I was totally on the edge of my seat! It really looked like a close call! It looked like Ladybug was about to lose, of course, I never had any doubt! They always save the day!" Alya proudly stated. Marinette couldn't help but smile at her faith in her...even if it's indirectly.

"Heh. Your hyper-ness might actually be waking me up a little...thanks, Alya." Marinette told her, the two said their goodbyes and hung up. She went to see how Tikki was doing, still just as groggy as her.

"I'll go get you somethin' to eat, Tikki, ok?" Without waiting for a response, Marinette bound down the stairs and was immediately faced with some pumpkin bread from her father.

"How would you like to be the judge, Marinette?" Tom asked with a sweet smile.

"Oh come now, tom! Using your daughter to give yourself the win? Are you really that desparate to beat me?" Jacques smugly stated.

"Well what do you propose?" He wondered while Marinette just tried to snatch a few cookies for her kwami by evading the two mens' feud until her phone began ringing from within her purse. Jacques turned to face Marinette as she tried to silence her phone before answering, just to find it was Alya again.

"Hey, I was just walking through the park and I spotted Chat Noir! I thought you might wanna know, it must mean that a fight is going down, Ladybug should show up soon. I didn't want you to miss out on the fun!" Alya told her as fast as she could, she must've been running while doing this call, immediately Marinette said thanks then hung up, said goodbye to her dad and ran out after stuffing some cookies in her purse for Tikki as she dashed to the park. The second Tikki finished eating, Marinette transformed and began shooting through the air with her yoyo. The minute Chat Noir touched down, he looked up to see Ladybug standing before him. He quickly shot to his feet with an embarrassed look on his face before doing his usual bow.

"Alright, where's the akuma?" Ladybug bluntly asked. Chat Noir just raised a confused eyebrow as a signal for her to elaborate. With a sigh, she did so.

"You're transformed and flying from building to building just to get over here, is there an akuma or what?" Chat struggled to come up with an excuse but was luckily interrupted by Alya who ran over with her phone in hand and panting.

"Chat Noir! Ladybug! Please, tell me, are you fighting anyone right now?" She asked, wiping the sweat from her brow. Ladybug just turned to Chat with an expectant and skeptical look on her face for an explanation. Panicking a bit, Chat Noir finally just wrapped an arm around Ladybug.

"Actually, Ladybug and I are on a date!" Alya's face lit up with excitement as she snapped a photo of the two together, Ladybug's face was just of shock, she pinched Chat Noir's cat ear and started dragging him off. Once they were atop a random building, Ladybug began the interrogation.

"Alright, what was that? Is there an akuma to fight or not?! 'Cause if not, this little 'date' is over." She announced with anger.

"Someone seems a bit cranky. That last fight really must've worn you out." Chat stated as Ladybug yawned.

"How exactly are you so energetic?" She questioned.

"Simple, I'm allowed to sleep in today, which I took full advantage of." He bragged, much to Ladybug's annoyance.

"Say...I've been wondering something lately." Ladybug began, Chat was eager to listen to whatever his sleepy beauty had to say of course.

"You ever think that akumatized people know where Hawkmoth lives? Next time we fight one, I wanna know. I think we should try to capture the next one and go for an interrogation." She proposed.

"And if they _do_ lead us to him...what if it's a trap?" Chat Noir asked, beginning to get serious as he pondered her plan.

"I'll come up with somethin'..." Ladybug started to wobble a little. Chat Noir had to catch her to keep her from tumbling off the roof.

"Are you ok, m'lady? What time did you get up this morning?" Chat asked with worry.

"I have a job that starts kinda early in the morning. I open the shop at 7, so I set my alarm for 5 in order to be showered and dressed by opening time. But the shower should've woken me up and I gave Tikki her cookies and I felt...ok while I was de-transformed, but now I feel as wiped as last night." Ladybug explained.

"You have a job? But, don't you go to school? We look to be about the same age. Now c'mon Lady...I can't have you fallin' asleep now. I can't carry you to your home since I don't know where it is." Chat tried shaking her a bit, all Ladybug did was mumble until both of them heard a scream come from the distance, in the direction of Marinette's bakery. Ladybug forced herself up and staggered a bit before finally making it to her feet.

"Come on, Chat...let's go." Ladybug mumbled as Chat Noir just watched with anxiousness and paranoia for his partner as she began swinging from building to building in the direction of the bakery, Chat Noir followed in close pursuit.

They landed and found a man terrorizing citizens. He had dark skin, bright red cheeks and wore the same chef's uniform as Jacques and wielding a tray that shot out gingerbread men.

"JACQUES?!" Ladybug yelled, much to Chat's confusion.

"You know him?" He asked, but before she could answer, Jacques had already turned to face them and began shooting gingerbread men at them. Then a thought came to Ladybug...

"Chat! I need you to hold them off, I'm gonna go check on my d-...th-the civilians that may be inside, ok?" She told him, Chat Noir nodded and continued crushing each giant gingerbread man that came his way.

~meanwhile~

Ladybug Ran into the bakery and found her father barely conscious on the floor, surrounded by several torn up and squashed baked goods. She ran over to him and lifted his head up gently.

"D- I-I mean, sir, can you tell me what happened?" She asked with worry.

"Ugh...we were having our own little baking contest and since my daughter left and my wife was out shopping, we decided to let each customer who came in try both of our dishes, I won every time and with each customer that came in and told him I was better, he grew more and more frustrated until I went to the bathroom and came back to find this going on." He told her, it seems that he must've been attacked as he fell unconscious. Meanwhile, Chat had decided to go along with Ladybug's plan and simply began trying to knock him out. By the time Ladybug got out, Chat Noir already had him pinned to a wall.

"Ah! Ladybug, I got him." He announced before turning back to face The Gingerbread Man that which he called himself.

"Alright, tell us, where is Hawkmoth?! Where's he hiding?!" Chat demanded.

"Give me the ring and I'll show you..." When Chat simply replied with a glare, Gingerbread Man fired some of his gingerbread soldiers at Ladybug to subdue her. Getting tired again, Ladybug struggled to keep up with their attacks. But then, oddly, the air grew very humid and the two superheroes began to feel drops of water hit their cheeks, when Ladybug paused to yawn, a gingerbread soldier was able to kick her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her, and tossing her to the ground. Chat Noir turned and saw this, he didn't hesitate for a moment to tend to Ladybug. She passed out in his arms as he lifted her bridal style. Little did he know that Alya had followed them and saw this whole fight go down on her phone and was shocked to see how damaged Ladybug got.

"Give me your miraculouses and I'll take you to Hawkmoth." Gingerbread man promised. Soon enough, Chat noticed Ladybug's earrings blink, she was about to de-transform. As much as Chat wanted to know her identity, he decided to simply walk away. Gingerbread man then heard Hawkmoth's voice.

"You can use this opportunity, Gingerbread man. Cut a deal with Chat Noir, bring him to me and inevitably, Ladybug will soon follow." He told him.

"Wait! Stop! I'll take you to see Hawkmoth!" Chat Noir stopped dead in his tracks. Chat Noir nodded then hopped onto the roof of the bakery and placed Ladybug there so she would be safe before hopping down and walking back up to the Gingerbread man.

"Sure! Lead the way, but first, call off your cookie soldiers!" Chat told him with great seriousness. Reluctantly, he snapped his fingers and the cookies all collapsed and crumbled and the two left the scene.


	2. Discoveries

When Ladybug woke up, she had de-transformed into Marinette and immediately began to panic.

"CHAT!" She yelled, suddenly Tikki came up to her.

"Marinette! He followed the akuma to Hawk Moth's lair! We need to transform again so you can track him!" She told her, Marinette nodded.

"Tikki, transform me!" She said and Tikki was sucked into her earrings, a few seconds later, Ladybug was back. She pulled out her multi-functioning yoyo. After turning on the tracker, she found where her partner was and quickly began zipping by from building to building in that direction.

~Meanwhile~...

"Hawk Moth, I brought him, just as you asked." Gingerbread Man said through an ajar door as he held an unconscious Chat Noir over his shoulder. Before the two had gotten close to the lair, Gingerbread Man knocked out Chat Noir so that he wouldn't find the location.

When Chat Noir woke up, he was in the center of the giant room presumed to be the lair. He had found himself surrounded by countless butterflies, looking around the darkness, trying to find somebody.

"Finally awake I see?" Chat Noir turned to face the direction of the voice he heard to see a man step forward into the light.

"Hawkmoth!" He yelled before hopping to his feet and charging towards him, Hawkmoth simply stepped out of the way, causing Chat to trip before turning around with frustration.

"I'd like to have a word with you, boy." He told him calmly.

"There's nothing to say, you terrorize Paris daily and somehow expect to have a civil conversation with the hero here to finally end all this?!" Chat Noir demanded angrily.

"Just come into the light so I can properly see your face." Hawkmoth told him. Chat Noir ran for him with his staff in hand, ready to swing. But nonchalantly, the man blocked it, slapping the staff out of his hand then grabbing Chat Noir by the wrist and chin, pulling him into the light and getting a closer look at his face.

"Let me go! CATACLYSM!" He shouted and reached for Hawkmoth, but he let go and stuck out his foot, causing Chat to trip once more and wasting his attack on the floor. Suddenly, a clicking sound was heard from the door, he knew it must've just been locked. In slight panic, Chat Noir ran for the door and started pulling on the handle. It was only then that Chat discovered he had walked into a trap. In one last effort, he used his cataclysm on the door, but it did nothing. Now he only had one minute before he would de-transform.

"I brought you here so that I could finally discover who you really were. I've had my suspicions, and now I want to see them confirmed. There's no way out, Chat Noir!" Chat was genuinely worried and intimidated by the man. Not knowing what to do, he just paced back and forth trying to think. But finally came to the realization that the room might be dark enough that Hawkmoth wouldn't be able to find him out if he stayed away from the light, so he ran to the darkest corner of the room, then received a call on his staff. He flipped it open and was relieved to see that Ladybug was alright, but then remembered something.

"Ladybug! Wait, don't come here, whatever you do! Stay away, It's a trap, just focus on the akuma and I'll handle Hawkmoth! Ok?" Without waiting for a response, he closed his staff.

"A valiant effort, indeed. Even if she does listen to you and stays away, I'll have you for a plan B, Chat Noir." The minute he finished this sentence, Chat transformed back into Adrien with a horrified expression. Adrien quickly curled into a ball so that his face would remain hidden. Hawkmoth smirked and sent his butterflies over to the corner where he was hiding. They illuminated that area and revealed the boy in a curled position.

"Adrien?"


	3. A sickly rescue

"All this time? It really was you!?" Hawkmoth stated, taken back by the sudden revelation.

"I didn't _want_ my guess to be correct! You've been putting yourself in danger everyday!" He rambled, Adrien lifted his head to face him with confusion.

"What do _you_ care about my safety?! You sound like my-..." Adrien stopped himself before he could finish the sentence.

"-Like your father?" He finished for him. Adrien suddenly grew suspicious as well.

"...W-we-well?! I'm de-transformed, aren't you going to try to take my miraculous?!" The boy yelled impatiently.

"You're just as sensitive as always...like your mother." Hawkmoth told him with a more serious expression.

"You don't know ANYTHING about me!" He shouted defensively. Then Plagg came out of his jacket and whispered into his ear.

"Plagg, that's impossible!" Adrien whispered back.

"You don't believe your own gut? I think you should trust it if you're thinking what I'm thinking." In shock, Adrien began to approach him slowly after hearing this and got a closer look at him.

"You...you can't be-..." Adrien thought aloud.

"Nuru, revert me!" Hawkmoth said to no one while Adrien watched him de-transform.

"FATHER?!" Adrien shouted in disbelief. He just went silent until Gabriel put his hands on his shoulders.

"Son. Listen to me...if I get your miraculous and Ladybug's, we'll finally be able to find your mother! That's all I've wanted this whole time! I suppose you could say I got lost along the way but I can't lose you too, it's my fault for not having been there for you, but I'm going to make it right." Nuru popped up from behind Gabriel's shoulder with a smile that she would no longer be used for evil then turned to face Adrien and gave a nodding gesture. He had paused and remained silent, uncertain of what to say until Plagg flew out of his jacket once more.

"Don't do it! Adrien, who knows what he's gonna do with the ring of destruction! How can you trust a word he says?!" Plagg pleaded.

"Adrien...please, with my powers I can sense all the things weighing a person down. I understand your mistrust but I really want to be used for good for once! We can get you anything you want! I noticed how flirtacious Chat Noir can be with Ladybug, if you get her miraculous, you two can be together as normal people, you'll have your mother back, everything will be fixed!" Nuru chimed.

"Father...I...I-", suddenly a thump was heard and the two turned their heads skyward to see Ladybug had landed like a pancake on the skylight instead of crashing through. Adrien couldn't help but sigh with a chuckle. Suddenly, he noticed his father grow serious once more as he transformed with nuru.

"She's still tired...ugh, princess..." Adrien mumbled to himself with disappointment before he realized that he couldn't transform unless Plagg got some cheese so all he could think to do was hide in the corner again to see what his father will do. It took a few minutes of stomping before Ladybug finally crashed through and soaking wet from the rain, started coughing.

"A-alright! Where's Chat Noir?! I know you have him trapped here somewhere!" This was followed by a sneezing and coughing fit.

"Ladybug! You need to go!" Adrien came out from hiding.

"Adrien? Where's Chat Noir? Are both of *cough* you trapped he-*cough*-re?" She asked, groggily.

"Uh...actually uh...Chat Noir escaped?" This was all Adrien could think of as an excuse.

"WHAT?! You mean he left you here?!" Ladybug demanded, making Adrien jump a little.

"Uhm...n-no! I mean, he must've escaped before I came here! He's probably looking for you..." Adrien proposed with anxiousness.

"But...if that's the case.." She opened up her yo-yo to try and call but he didn't pick up.

"Ladybug, I can assure you, Chat Noir is safe and probably needed to de-transform." Hawkmoth interjected.

"Why should I *cough* believe anything YOU *cough* say?!" Ladybug yelled. then got into a fighting stance and readied her yo-yo for action, just as Hawkmoth did the same with his staff. But Adrien jumped between them.

"Ladybug, don't hurt him!" He begged, Ladybug couldn't help but glare at Hawkmoth.

"Why? You must be hypnotized or something!" She yelled before going into a sneezing fit.

"I-I'm not! Ladybug, you...-". Adrien paused and took a saddened glance at Hawkmoth before turning back to Ladybug.

"Let's go, before both of us get trapped in!" He said convincingly. Ladybug was caught between instincts and feelings, she wanted to keep Adrien safe...but she was also sick of fighting akumas and just wanted to finish this.

"I suppose I do know where he is now...let's go, Adrien." Ladybug told him before taking him by the waist, both of them blushed as she threw her yo-yo up and tugged, causing the two to fly out. On the way, Adrien glanced back at Hawkmoth who was looking downward, Adrien assumed it to be disappointment and sadness when in actuality...it was fury.

"So, you're really ok?" Ladybug asked worriedly when the two found shelter from the rain and Ladybug began coughing and sneezing again.

"The real question is how to get you home so you can rest." Adrien told her.

"Adrien, I'm sorry but...if you saw where I lived, you'd know who I really am. I can't reveal my identity to anyone."

"My lady, your health is at risk! If you're sick because of my doing, I won't be able to forgive myself!" Adrien shouted.

"At least I managed to get the akuma purified before saving you. I can take myself home." Ladybug tried to convince him.

"Oh, wait a minute! What if you stayed at my house for the night! It's perfect." Adrien told her naively.

"That sounds nice and very chivalrous of you...but I can't be a burden." She waved her hand dismissively before throwing her yo-yo once more and flying off.

"Ugh...she is so stubborn...and yet so irresistible." Adrien thought aloud and reluctantly began walking to his house, suddenly he checked the time and realized he was late for the photoshoot. So he ran as fast as he could, trying not to slip in the puddles.

~meanwhile~

Ladybug landed on the roof of the bakery, detransformed and descended down the ladder to her bedroom. Everyone had forgotten the incident at the bakery as Marinette simply collapsed on the bed, passing out before she could change out of her wet clothes and take a hot shower. Tikki flew out of her purse to check Marinette's temperature to find that she had a very bad fever. However, she too was exhausted and passed out in her purse. When Marinette woke up, her father was standing above her, checking her forehead along with her mother.

"Marinette were you outside in the rain? How long?" Marinette quietly mumbled 'an hour or more'. Her parents sighed.

"Well go take a warm shower, change and I'll make you some cookies and hot chocolate while your mother gets some medicine and changes your sheets." Marinette groggily nodded, wiping the drool from her face as she left to do as told.

~Meanwhile...again~

Adrien made it home and was faced with an angry Nathalie.

"I can explain!" He tried to tell her.

"Your father gave me the most specific of orders; keep you home until the photographers came. Now he's angry with the both of us." Suddenly Adrien remembered what his father revealed to him earlier.

"Did he...tell you anything else?" He nervously asked. But before Nathalie could say another word, she was interrupted by Gabriel.

"Adrien. We'll be having dinner soon, I'd like you to stay in your room until then. To make sure this little incident doesn't happen again, I'll be turning on the defense systems. At dinner I wish to talk privately with you, does that sound fair?" He asked. Nervous and fearfully, Adrien couldn't look him in the eye but nodded in agreement before being escorted back to his room.

"Finally, I can eat!" Plagg said as he flew over to the mini fridge and pulled out some camembert.

"What am I gonna do, Plagg?! He knows everything! He knows my identity and I know his, what could he want to talk about?" Adrien asked, panicking and pacing excessively back and forth through his room.

"No matter what, he's still your dad. But that doesn't mean you have to trust him and give him your ring. Don't trust a word he says, worst comes to worst, you transform and fight it out and leave somewhere safe, I know a perfect place to hide." Plagg told him.

"Plagg, look around. The defense system is on, every window is sealed and who knows when he plans to release it! We're stuck here, even if there IS a safe place to hide away from here, we're trapped. I can only hope for the best." Adrien said with paranoia. Plagg was hiding his own fear in hopes of lightening the mood and calm Adrien down. It was a whole half hour of pacing around and going back and forth with Plagg before Nathalie opened his door and told him to come to the table, which he reluctantly did so. Gabriel sat at one end of the table, Adrien sat at the other. Nathalie was instructed to leave them be and close the door behind her so the two would have privacy.

"Adrien, I know I've hurt you and thus, failed as a father. It's incredibly difficult to live with the knowledge that we've been enemies for so long. Please, retrieve Ladybug's miraculous and turn in yours. We'll be able to become a family again!" Adrien only glared.

"As much as I miss mom and want to see her again, how do I know that I'm not assisting you in taking over the world?!" He yelled.

"Please keep your voice down, I don't want Nathalie to hear. I need you to understand. If I had known you were Chat Noir-"

"-You'd just attack Ladybug instead." Adrien finished for his father with another scowl.

"You seem very close to her, aren't you?"

"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!" He shouted suddenly.

"I understand what it's like to be in love. Trust me when I say, young love will only lead to disaster." Gabriel tried to tell him.

"Just because you blame yourself for mom's disappearance doesn't mean the same thing will happen to me! I protect Ladybug with my life."

"You think I didn't do the same for _her_?! I loved her more than anything, you may see me as suffocating and _over-_ protective but it's just because I can't afford to lose you as well, Adrien, you're all I have left. If our relationship is going to be like this...why don't you just take a sip from your drink?" Adrien was suspicious as to why. Plagg came out to sniff the drink, when he couldn't smell anything wrong, he told Adrien it was ok so he did as told. He drank half of it before putting the glass down, when he did and looked back up at his father, he was horrified to see him mouth the words 'I'm sorry'. Suddenly the room became blurred to Adrien and he got dizzy until he and Plagg both realized what was going on. Adrien tried to stand up and leave but collapsed to the ground as Gabriel approached him. Plagg jumped in front of his master protectively, trying to be fierce.

"Don't you touch him!" Plagg threatened, ignored by Gabriel who reached down and picked up his son with a saddened expression. He then turned to face Plagg.

"Tell him a word of any of this, and I'll be sure to find a way to make you suffer." He said with a very intimidating and serious tone that terrified the kwami, as a result he nodded in reluctant agreement.

When Adrien woke up, he was lying in his bed, very confused and rather sickly.

"Adrien, tell me what's the last thing you remember?" Plagg frantically asked him. Adrien slowly looked around and held his head which was aching heavily.

"Uh...I have a photoshoot today don't I?" He guessed and Plagg sighed.

"Actually, it's cancelled. I overheard your dad say that he called it off since you're sick." Adrien raised an eyebrow at this, prompting Plagg to elaborate, which he did.

"He came in and checked your forehead, apparently you got a fever." He told him. Adrien could only groan.

"What day is it?" Adrien wondered.

"Mon-...I mean Sunday." Plagg nervously lied.

"Why don't you just go back to sleep, Adrien? Just get some rest." Adrien wanted to argue with Plagg but started having a coughing fit, some liquid, black, the color of his drink came out but he didn't notice as he simply turned over and submitted to the comfort of his bed. Plagg sighed in depression seeing Adrien in his condition.

* * *

 **I know it seems really weird to have Adrien just forget the whole day but I wanted him to discover the truth a different way, the hands that were typing seemed to have other plans though. So, yes, he's going to find out about Hawkmoth once again. I just didn't want to suddenly stop writing this story to begin a new one that may or may not turn out better or worse.**


	4. Fay

~Back at School, Monday morning~

"Say...isn't it a little odd that both Adrien _and_ Marinette are absent today?" Alya thought aloud, theorizing with Nino.

"What's odd about it?" Nino wondered, turning back around to look at Alya, whom was stroking her chin.

"Because last I saw Ladybug and Chat Noir, they were fighting another villain, in the rain!" The two pondered together before suddenly lightbulbs came over their heads.

"Alya...you don't think-...?" Nino started.

"No way...it couldn't be a coincidence! The history book incident, the fact that they're never in the same place at the same time...! Marinette and Adrien are Ladybug and Chat Noir?!" Alya shouted in shock. Everyone in class turned to face Nino and Alya, luckily the teacher had yet to arrive.

"Yeah right! Like someone as clumsily dimwitted as Marinette could be Ladybug!" Alya glared at Chloe's response.

"And what about Adrien?" Nino asked Chloe with curiosity towards her opinion regarding the matter.

"I don't know. He's just too perfect and nice and shy, it just doesn't fit Ladybug's annoyed description of Chat Noir!" Nino turned back to Alya for her opinion, she immediately had a case ready for argument.

"Well, Nino told me that Adrien is really sheltered and always under the close eye of his dad, I'm pretty sure if your parent kept you neatly tucked under their thumb like a prisoner all your life, wouldn't you want to be free to express yourself? Maybe Chat Noir is his alter ego and that's how he vents his emotions that get bottled up!" Everyone else in the room sided with Alya as it seemed to make the most sense.

"Wanna text Marinette?" Nino asked Alya who quickly snatched her phone out from her pocket and began furiously typing.

~Meanwhile~

Suddenly Marinette heard her phone buzz as she slowly reached for her phone to see who it was while she blew her nose in a tissue at the same time. She was horrified upon reading the text.

"Marinette! I need to know, you're Ladybug aren't you! Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret between us once I convince the class that my hunch is wrong. Mari, you can't keep a journalist from finding the truth. When you get better, call me!" She read aloud before taking a shaky sip of her hot chocolate. She nervously showed it to Tikki, who's jaw dropped in shock.

"How did she figure it out?!" Tikki gasped.

"I don't know! I have no idea what to do!" Marinette panicked.

"Text her back! Try to come up with an excuse!" Tikki told her, Marinette nodded and began typing.

~Back at school~

"Oh hey! She just replied! It says; 'I don't know what you're talking about'." Alya read with a very unserious face.

"She seriously sent that to you?! How corny can you get, that's such clear denial." Nino said.

"I know, now it's just obvious. What should I say back?" Alya asked.

"How about we just keep it a secret that we know? Let her believe that her secret is still totally safe." Nathaniel thought aloud.

"Yeah, text her that you were only kidding or something!" Nino told Alya who immediately began texting again.

"Hey, I got another text!" Marinette said frantically, trying not to sweat from nervousness. Her and Tikki both read the message and sighed in relief.

"She was just joking, man I was so worried." Marinette went back to drinking her hot chocolate and gave Tikki another cookie, having lost her own appetite with those few minutes of stress.

"I think I need some more sleep after that scare." She thought aloud and Tikki nodded in agreement after finishing the last cookie. Marinette still had a fever and continued to have a headache, but at least she had more energy.

~Meanwhile~

A young girl was busy in her room, brushing the hair that she hated and glaring at her reflection surrounded by various pictures of Ladybug. It was only seeing Ladybug's smile that made her smile back.

"Ugh...why do I have to be so ugly. I'll never have a social life." The girl told herself. She hated her freckles, she hated the tiny gap between her two front teeth that her mother thought looked adorable. She hated her scraggily greasy hair that continuously had to have gel and conditioner in it to keep it in place. She hated everything about herself, and today was the spring dance that would be happening later in the evening, but at the moment, the girl just had to pull herself together and go to school. All while mumbling to herself.

"An 11 year old with acne, isn't that supposed to be a teenager thing?" Her mother heard this tried to cheer up her daughter.

"Fay. You know girls mature faster than boys. You're not ugly, so stop treating yourself that way! You're beautiful just the way you are, there are people who have no teeth but can still see the beauty in themselves." Her mother said with a compassionate smile. Fay rolled her eyes.

"Great cheer up speech, mom. I just wish I actually was pretty! Like Ladybug! Perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect figure!" She retorted with annoyance. Fay just snatched her backpack and began her walk to school.

It was a quick walk from Fay's house to the school as the minute she walked in, she found herself surrounded by all the kid couples that had dates to the dance. She tried to convince herself that the dance was overrated but she was on the decorating team and it looked as extravagant as what she would imagine a wealthy prom to look like. It irritated her to no end at how happy everyone looked as Fay just felt herself to be the ugly duckling. She headed to her first class and on the way, passed by a group of guys. It seemed like one of them had opened his mouth to say something, but she decided not to stick around for an insult, she had a crush on one of the guys in that group, but he never noticed her.

 _Maybe the guy doesn't have to be the one to ask me out...I could ask him! Right?_ She nervously wondered, afraid of getting rejected, she chose to keep quiet until lunch time.

Meanwhile...

"Ah, a school dance. There's bound to be at least a few saddened and lonely souls. No one will be able to stop me from retrieving the miraculouses!"

"Don't think you'll get away with this!" Hawkmoth suddenly heard a voice, he smirked.

"Plagg, nice of you to join us. Shouldn't you be watching over Adrien?" He slyly told the kwami.

"You're not really out to save his mom, are you?!" Plagg accused.

"Think what you want, but everything I do is for a reason." Hawkmoth said defensively.

"Sure. Just not a good reason!" Plagg mumbled to himself before flying out back to Adrien. He had been keeping a close eye on his ring with paranoia that if he ever fell asleep, he'd wake up to find the ring stolen by Hawkmoth.

Lunch time had arrived for Fay and she began following her crush from afar trying to come up with a strategy of how to approach the topic, a note would take too long for a response.

"Ok...I'm just gonna go up to him and ask upfront!" Fay began walking towards him. She tried fixing her hair a bit and made sure her teeth didn't have anything stuck between them a she slowly and nervously approached the boy. Little did she know that the other boy was watching her walk up to him, he held a love letter for her in his shaking hand as his heart began to drop, knowing that she was going to ask somebody out.

"Uh, hi! Michael...I'm Fay, uh...b-but you already know that since we er, have the same classes and so anyway...I uh...um was wondering I-if you could, if you and I uh...-" Fay stuttered as suddenly a girl wrapped an arm around the boy with a smirk. Fay was frozen as she felt her heart break inside her. Her knees shook.

"Were you trying to ask out Michael? Listen, Fatty Fay, he's taken." Tears began to well up in Fay's eyes as she ran away crying. The boy who liked her, Liam, felt so bad for her. He gave Ann a death glare.

"How dare she! How could someone be so mean to the most beautiful girl in the world?! How cruel can you be? I won't let her get away with hurting Fay!" Liam said to himself as he shoved his love letter in his pocket and ran away. While running, he heard a voice.

"HeartShatter, I am Hawkmoth. You wish to get revenge on the ones whom have wronged the girl you love. Pay them back for every insult thrown at her, in return, bring me the Miraculous stones of Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

"With pleasure, Hawkmoth!" Liam told him as the akuma flew into his pocket and attached itself to the love letter.

meanwhile...

Fay had gone to the girl's bathroom to cry when suddenly a voice was heard.

"Shapeshifter, listen to me, I am Hawkmoth. You wish to be beautiful like all the other girls, correct? Just bring me the miraculous of Chat Noir and Ladybug and your wish will be granted. Do we have a deal?" Hawkmoth informed her.

"Yes, Hawkmoth!" The akuma attached itself to her ladybug charm bracelet. When Fay walked out of the bathroom, she was a complete Ladybug copy. When Liam walked back down the hall, he was dressed in black from head to toe except his chest had a broken heart symbol on it with a red and black stripped gun arm that shot blasts of electric black matter. Heart Shatter blasted every couple that passed him which caused them all to have a violent break up and lose all self esteem they had for themselves. While Shapeshifter, wrapped people up with her yo-yo and when they unraveled, they were transformed into hideous creatures except they still maintained their conscience as they all screamed in horror upon looking into a mirror. Some were turned into animals, others became gross and smelly fat human pig hybrids. The two akumatized children met up at an intersection of hallways.

"you seem familiar..." Shapeshifter told him.

"As do you, ma'lady. Or at least, _sound_ familiar. Fay." Heart Shatter told her, Shapeshifter hadn't realized that her voice hadn't changed to match Ladybug's so it still went up and down in pitch like a changing voice should. She blushed in embarrassment and as a result, turned into an adorable kitten with big eyes and a shy demeanor.

"How did you know who I was?" The kitten asked as Heart lowered his hand for her to hop on, which she did and crawled onto his shoulder.

"Because I like you." The kitten blushed again at this comment.

"Now let's get our revenge and those stupid miraculous stones!" Fay announced proudly, turning into a snake. Heart shatter smirked at her as she hopped off him and turned back into Ladybug before running off together through the school zapping couples and people prettier than Fay.

"Let's get Ann!" Shapeshifter told him.

The two split up to search for Ann. Shapeshifter ran for the gym and Heart Shatter dashed to the auditorium. Shapeshifter found Michael instead, she initially had her arm raised and glowing about to attack until she saw the terrified look on his face.

"P-p-please! D-don't...don't hurt me!" The boy pleaded frantically. Shapeshifter lowered her arm with a guilty expression.

"I-I...I don't, I'm not gonna hurt you, I just-...". Suddenly she turned into herself, only wearing a rain coat, drenched as her hair had flattened from seemingly having been in the rain for hours and her bangs covered her face.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, SHAPESHIFTER?! GO!" Hawkmoth yelled in her head, she fell to her knees in pain as suddenly, she lost control of her abilities and began zapping everything in sight to turn it hideous before turning back to Michael and aiming her finger at him. The blast was fired but was reflected by a familiar yo-yo. Shapeshifter gasped at seeing Ladybug until she remembered her mission and all the people who had hurt her. Her anger built up as Ladybug approached her and she turned into a giant red fire-breathing dragon.

"Woah...did not see that coming." Ladybug said to herself.

"Gimme the earrings!" She yelled while trying to reach for Ladybug whom quickly jumped out of the way with nimble reflexes. Ladybug through her yo-yo again and it tied Shapeshifters legs together.

"Haha! Gotcha'!" She gloated, until Shapeshifter turned into a snake, causing the string to release her before turning back into Fay and running off out of the gym to find Heartshatter.

* * *

 **Yes, Fay is a real name, and ironically, it means "confidence"...that's why I picked it.**


	5. A date to remember

Shapeshifter ran to the auditorium to find Heart shatter was trying to blast Chat Noir. She managed to noticed that Chat Noir kept coughing, like he had a sore throat or something until she spotted the tiny splatters of mysterious black liquid coming out of him but he didn't seem to neither notice nor care as he simply struggled to dodge Heartshatter's attacks. Getting impatient, Shapeshifter turned into rope and flung herself at Heartshatter, he caught it and used it against Chat Noir, Shapeshifter made herself get tighter and tighter until she was squeezing the life out of him. It didn't take long for Ladybug to get there and hit Fay with her yo-yo, transforming her back to her old self, but before Chat could catch his breath, Fay pointed her finger at him, zapped him and turned Chat Noir into a literal Chat Noir.

"Ha! What good is your partner now as a little black kitten, huh, Ladybug?!" Fay taunted before restraining her so she couldn't fling her yo-yo again. During this, Heartshatter snatched the ring from Chat's paw. The kitten hopped onto Heartshatter and began furiously clawing and biting him as Heartshatter simply frantically tried to swat him away. Out of fear for Chat Noir, Ladybug broke free from Fay's grasp and knocked the ring out of Heartshatter's hands. She dived for it and managed to get it for him. Ladybug snatched Chat Noir from Heartshatter's arm and cradled the black kitten in one arm and pulled out of the school with her yo-yo. Upon landing, she set Chat down and he ran to cuddle and rub against her ankles.

"Don't worry, Chat Noir, I'll get you back to normal." She promised, then Chat looked up at her with his big emerald green eyes.

"Actually I don't mind this form too much." He began purring as he rubbed against her legs. Ladybug looked down at him with annoyance as he took a few steps back, she tossed him his ring.

"You sure you wanna give it back now? You could just end our little game of who's who by purifying the akuma and seeing who I am." He told her with a smirk. She just rolled her eyes.

"If you wanted me to know who you were, you would've told me a long time ago, so just stay here and be cute." She ordered. Chat saluted his paw to her and she hopped back down the hole in the roof. The minute she did, however, Chat began feeling down.

"It seems I'm practically worthless if she can just go back down there and tackle two akumas without my help. She's the one who does the purifying... So then...what am I worth? I need her...but she clearly doesn't need me." Chat curled up into a little black ball of fur and felt sorry for himself. He felt even more pathetic at how fast it took her before a flash of light came and soon two white butterflies flew out.

"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!" Ladybug shouted and everything went back to normal. But Chat Noir still felt terrible and began coughing again. When Ladybug came out and back up to the roof to find Chat Noir, he was in the middle of a coughing fit.

"Chat, are you ok?" She asked walking towards him hesitantly.

"I'm *cough* fine!" He angrily yelled, he immediately felt horrible guilt upon looking up to see Ladybug's shocked face as he began profusely apologizing. She couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Let me make it up to you. Since I was so useless this time, how about we meet up at the Eiffel Tower later tonight?" The way he asked her reminded her of Adrien, it wasn't often that Chat spoke seriously.

"I dunno...I don't want you to get any more sick than you already are." Ladybug told him with worry.

"Don't worry, I'm fine! And besides I'm not letting it go that I allowed YOU to get sick yesterday, by the way, how're you doing?" Chat wondered.

"It's strange...as Ladybug, I feel almost perfectly fine, but when I'm de-transformed...it's just awful. Sore throat, headache, stuffy nose, everything." She explained with a raised eyebrow.

"Well like I said before...see you at 8!" He quickly bluntly told her so that before she could respond he disappeared.

"Great...now I can't say 'no'." Ladybug grumbled to herself before zooming off on her yo-yo in the opposite direction.

When Chat finally made it to the window of his room, he sat there for a few moments before sighing. He hadn't realized yet that Nathalie was in the room as he de-transformed and staggered over to his bed again with Plagg trying to keep him balanced by nudging in the opposite direction that he was about to tip over until he turned his head...

"Adrien!" Plagg whispered into his ear. Adrien tried to look for Plagg behind him before eventually turning to see Nathalie standing in the middle of his room with a shocked face. The two of them were frozen, jaws dropped. She began to open her phone, but Plagg slapped it out of her hand.

"Nathalie...Please! I need you to keep this a secret, if father finds out who I am, he'll never let me out of the house again! *cough* Please don't tell!" Adrien begged as Plagg returned to the inside of Adrien's PJ pocket.

"Adrien, you know your father only wants the best for you. He just wants to keep you safe!" Nathalie tried to explain.

"At LEAST keep it a secret until 8!" Adrien pleaded.

"Why 8?" She asked.

"I uh...I kinda have a *cough* date with *cough* Ladybug..." He told her with a blush. Nathalie's eyes widened again in more shock.

"You've never been on a date before, you know you're just going to mess up your chances." She tried to tell him.

"Adrien hasn't gone a date...but the flirtacious Chat Noir can handle any woman!" He proudly stated before entering another coughing fit as Nathalie escorted him back to his bed.

"You're too sick to go anywhere!" She told him before walking out of the room. Adrien was too dizzy to get up and chase after her.

"Plagg, could you-?" Plagg nodded before Adrien could even finish his sentence before flying out of the room after Nathalie.

~Meanwhile~

"*cough* I can't help but get the feeling that Chat was depressed about something. His tone was really irritable." Marinette said while lying in her bed with her continuous fever.

"I think going on that date with him might make him feel better. Obviously something must've happened to him, you're the only one who can probably cheer him up." Tikki tried to explain. After a long pause full of moaning, tossing and turning in the bed, Marinette finally rolled back over to face Tikki.

"He said 8, right? At the Tower?" She asked, Tikki smiled upon hearing this and nodded. Suddenly, she received another text from Alya. After their last conversation, she had been dreading their next one.

 _The day is feeling so long without you! Getting real tired of Chloe without a best friend who can back me up with some sick burns!_ She read, it made her smile to know she was missed.

7:50~

Marinette had told her parents that she was going to sleep at 7 and not to bother her as she was pacing around her room and mumbling to herself as the pit in her stomach grew with nervousness.

"Can I style my hair as Ladybug? Like, have it out of the ribbons?" Tikki nodded.

"Why are you so nervous Marinette? It's just Chat Noir. He doesn't bite, he nimbles!" Tikki joked.

"Should I use this date to ask him things about himself or something?" Marinette wondered.

"Let's just transform, go over there and figure it out when we get there?" Tikki told her, Marinette nodded in agreement and she transformed into Ladybug. Upon zooming out of her window, she was amused with how pretty Paris looked at night, not that she hadn't seen this before, but it always remained beautiful everytime that seemed to capture her attention in various ways. Ladybug propelled herself from building to building towards the Eiffel Tower while some onlookers watched her pass with glee at seeing their hero. Ladybug was pleasantly surprised to find an entire table, cloth, chairs, and dinner with candlelight set up for her. She couldn't help but blush until two hands came around her eyes.

"Guess who~"

"Chat." Ladybug said with an unserious tone before laughing and pulling his arms off her. He came around to face her with a rose in his hand, a white one. She smiled at it and continued chuckling a bit.

"Aw c'mon, what's so funny?" He asked in a more childish voice.

"I can't believe you went so...'all out' for this."

"What's so hard to believe about it? I promised a date and I'm fulfilling that promise, shall we be seated?" He ushered her over to her seat and pulled out the chair for her. The meal was one of Marinette's favorites.

"How did you know my favorite food?" She questioned with genuine curiosity.

"Alya." Ladybug's eyes shot wide as thoughts began rushing through her mind.

 _did she tell Chat about her so called 'hunch' about my identity? Does he know?!_

"She was able to guess my favorite food rather accurately as well. Salmon and tuna, prepared any way." He elaborated. Ladybug sighed in relief and gave a meek smile.

"So...uh...Alya's been wanting me to ask you some questions and...well...I wanna know a little more about my partner." She told him. Chat smirked which made Ladybug roll her eyes at his goofiness.

"Ask away, my lady." He told her and she cleared her throat.

"Well...how old are you?"

"14. How old are you?" He finished with his own question.

"Same as you. So that must mean you go to school?" She wondered.

"Indeed. Heck, we might even go to the same school." Chat pitched with a goofy and hopeful grin.

"Yeah, right. I'm pretty sure I'd know someone like you anywhere." Ladybug smirked.

"You may not believe me when I say that this is the 'real' me. My other self is just trapped inside a bubble, when I'm not Chat Noir, I'm just your typical bland 'nice guy' who would never get the nerve to ask out his crush like I can." It stunned Ladybug a bit to hear him talk so genuinely sentimental. It reminded her of Adrien, causing her to blush.

"Wow. We _are_ really alike. I'm confident and open as Ladybug, but when I'm not...I'm just a sad, clumsy, pathetic, cowardly-"

"-DON'T SAY THAT!" He cut her off, making her jump a bit.

"You're perfect no matter who you are! You're smart, beautiful, kind, brave-"

"-that's the Ladybug _you_ know. In fantasy, I may be those things, but in reality, I'm a fraud. Ladybug isn't my true personality unlike you, Chat Noir. I don't think you'd be interested in me at all if Ladybug didn't even exist, I just blend into the crowd and can't even confess her feelings to her crush. I'm timid, everything that Ladybug is...I'm not." She tried to tell him.

"Who's your crush?" Chat wondered. Ladybug let out a long sigh, trying to ponder whether or not to tell Chat who it was.

"...Adrien. Adrien Agreste...he goes to my school. He's so nice to everyone and gentlemanly, and isn't a huge flirt like a certain kitty I know." She confessed while blushing and looking away as she tried to cover up what she had just said by finishing her food. Chat Noir just stared at her in shock, making Ladybug a little uneasy and anxious and guilty.

"I-I'm sorry! It's not like I DON'T like you, Chat, I was simply drawing the comparison, I...I didn't mean to offend you, I just-" but suddenly, she got cut off by Chat's hysteric laughter. She began tapping her finger on the table with impatience. Chat laughed for a very long time until Ladybug started to become angry.

"I'm glad that my failure of a love life amuses you. Clearly, this was all just a joke to you, nice one, Chat." She told him over his obnoxious laughter, which stopped immediately after her first sentence was finished as she began to walk off. He tried to catch up with her to apologize, but by the time he got to where she was standing, he could see her flying off in the distance from building to building. Chat Noir could only stand there and watch her leave as guilt washed over him. He fell to his knees, allowing his arms to go limp as Ladybug's words kept endlessly replaying through his head.

 _"Well, well...it's not often that I see the hyper, happy, lovestruck cat get his poor little heart broken."_ Chat's eyes widened with terror at the sound of this voice in his head.

"NO! Hawkmoth?!" He asked with a shaking voice.

 _"Don't you want to be happy, Chat Noir? Don't you think you deserve to be happy, get revenge on those who have wronged you?"_

"Ladybug?...YOU STAY AWAY! I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU HURT HER!" Chat shouted.

 _"You've hurt her enough already, and without my help even. It wasn't I who made you laugh at her dilemma's. Poor Chat Noir has forever lost his chances with the girl he loves."_

"LEAVE ME ALONE! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" He screamed as he clutched his forehead in pain, but the minute Hawkmoth stopped talking to him, the angered look on Ladybug's face came back.

"I just wish I could take it all back! I want her back! I want her to love me...I...I want...I want her to be mine and mine alone." Chat thought aloud.

 _"Chat Blanc. Ladybug WILL be yours if you give me what I ask."_ Hawkmoth's voice returned, Chat Noir had began to lower his guard and relax his tensed muscles before smirking, baring his fangs as a little Akuma flied over to him and merged with his bell. Darkness enveloped Chat, when it dissolved, his jet black suit had been replaced with a white one. He got back to his feet, destroyed the dinner table he had set up with one swift kick and hopped off the edge of the beam, elongating his staff to propel him forward as he began heading in the direction he had seen Ladybug run off to.

"Heh. I'm coming for you, my lovely Ladybug."


	6. The end of the butterfly

Alya and several other bystanders witnessed their entire date and it's downfall. Everyone saw the akuma fly over to Chat Noir's bell and they all tried screaming to get his attention to get away from the black butterfly. Many people got the entire thing on film with their phones, including Alya as on her Ladyblog, the title of the video has been titled: "DATE GONE WRONG; AKUMATIZED CHAT NOIR!" Having known that Marinette was Ladybug and was swinging in the direction of her house, she frantically hailed a cab over to the bakery as she tried calling and texting her repeatedly, but no answer. It was only halfway through the ride that she got called back to hear a very sick Marinette on the other side.

"Marinette! Listen to me! You need to leave your house! Chat Noir...or I guess I should say 'Chat Blanc' is after you!" After hearing this, Marinette tried to stand up. Alya could hear the sound of bed springs coming back up after weight was lifted from it, as right after which, she heard the loud thump of someone falling onto the floor.

"*cough*...I'm too dizzy to do anything, Alya. I *cough* can't leave my house. Why would Chat Noir come *cough* after me? He's just a goofy flirt...and an insensitive one at that." Marinette went into a sneezing and coughing fit.

"Don't worry, girl, I got you! I'm halfway there now! Try to hide for the time being, just believe me when I say you NEED to hide right now!" Alya pressured. Marinette told her 'ok' then slid herself under the bed. All of a sudden, Marinette heard footsteps coming from the roof and nearing the ladder that leads to her bedroom. Even though she knew it had to be Chat Noir, she trusted Alya that she had a reason to fear him for some reason. Chat Blanc flicked on the lights and began strolling around the room.

"Where are you my lovely Ladybug?~" He asked in a taunting, and yet, lovestruck tone. He looked under and behind her desk and all around as he began to slowly approach the bed, all Marinette could see were Chat's boots, except white for some reason. His foot was only inches away from her face while she cupped her mouth in order to contain her breathing. There was a long pause as he just stood there silently standing over the bed before he finally began to back away from it, Marinette accidentally let out a sigh of relief.

"FOUND YOU!" He yelled, but not loud enough to wake her parents. Marinette let out a yelp and tried to crawl further back under the bed until she was right up against the wall. Chat managed to reach under and snatched her wrist, dragging her out and up to her feet in one motion. He bent down to pick up the phone that had yet to be hung up.

"Don't worry, Alya. Marinette's in good hands now~" He said with a smirk, but before Alya could respond, Chat Noir crushed the phone in his hands, then licked his lips upon getting a good look at the terrified and sickly Marinette.

"So _you're_ the one whom Ladybug describes as timid and pathetic. I have to say, I'm disappointed, I thought she was lying." Chat Blanc explained before lifting her up bridal style and winking with a smirk.

"W-w-where are we *cough*...going?" Marinette asked in fear.

"For another date, but first-" He easily managed to snatch her earrings off. Marinette could only watch in terror as her best friend, turned traitor stole her chance of escape. He hoisted her up now that she was being carried with one arm. In fear of falling, she had to hold onto him as he opened the window and the two hopped out just as Alya had pulled over. She hopped back into the car and simply directed the driver to keep after Chat Blanc and Marinette, which he did successfully. They wound up back at the Eiffel Tower. Chat Blanc had taken her to the very top this time. He sat cross-legged with Marinette in his lap.

"Liking the view?" He kindly asked with a sweet smile on his face.

"*cough* It's just as lovely as ever *cough*". She nervously told him.

"I understand the unease, but I know what'll help." He began to slide off his ring as a flash of light came from him and suddenly, Marinette had found herself in Adrien's lap. She was completely dumbfounded and speechless. The two began coughing together.

"H-hey...we're both sick! That's kinda funny." He told her, in an attempt to lighten the mood but Marinette was still frozen in shock, finally Plagg had to snap her out of it, only, he was now the 'Blanc' Plagg.

"Y-you mean...I've been fighting alongside-..."

"-your crush this whole time? Yep and I loved every minute of it."

"So that's why you were laughing?" She asked with a blush of embarrassment. Suddenly Adrien heard Hawkmoth's voice again.

 _"You have her, now bring me the miraculouses!"_ Adrien held his head in pain while Marinette looked towards him in worry, until she noticed that Hawkmoth's symbol was on his face. Marinette let out a gasp of horror as she tried to snap Adrien out of the spell.

"I won't do it! The deal's off, Hawkmoth!" Adrien shouted back, causing Marinette to jump a little.

 _"The 'deal' is off when I SAY it's off, boy! If you won't obey me, then I'm sure, SHE will in her weakened state. Though I was lead to believe that you could barely stand, let alone fight off my control."_

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Adrien shouted at the sky while Marinette tried to calm him down.

"Wait...how did you know I was sick?" Marinette's eyes widened at this.

 _"You can guess all you wish, but for now. Bring me the miraculouses!"_ Hawkmoth shouted, Adrien held his head in pain. He then turned back to face Marinette with a smirk.

"No! Adrien! You gotta fight him!" Marinette begged, but he ignored her.

"Plagg, transform me!" Plagg was sucked into his ring and Adrien became Chat Blanc once more.

"Let's go, my lady~...we have a butterfly to visit." He announced with a vicious look in his eyes and a crazed smirk, leaving Marinette speechless with fear. Marinette held on tightly to Chat Blanc, this seemed to make him happy. At one point she looked down and caught a glance at Alya filming the whole thing with a frightened face of her own while others were on the phone and staring, probably calling the police.

"Her parents have a right to know where she is though..." Alya mumbled to herself and reluctantly dialed the number of the bakery. The one who picked up was Marinette's father. She explained some of what happened before he left the phone off the hook and footsteps were heard running up the stairs and a panicking loud conversation followed suit.

For some odd reason, her mother seemed a bit more calm and understanding of the situation when she picked up the phone after Tom had left it dangling. She asked Alya to go over the whole situation one more time, once finished, she calmly hung up the phone and ran out the door with Tom.

Meanwhile,

"Chat, you don't have to do this! If you give me back my miraculous, I can help you! We'll take down Hawkmoth together when we get there and finally end his reign of terror." Marinette begged.

"And then what?" Chat Blanc replied with a somber expression, confusing Marinette.

"What do you mean?" She asked with a quizzical stare.

"When will we be able to see each other again if there're no more akuma's to fight?" Marinette understood exactly what he meant and looked up at him with an uncertain saddened face.

"You pity me, don't you?" Spoken with a slightly angered undertone.

"What?! Of course not! Cha-...no...Adrien, you're the coolest guy I know, with or without the mask, we'll always be together!" She promised him with a smile.

"Heh. Don't worry, I'll make sure of it." He smirked, this gave Marinette chills down her spine and she began coughing again when they got close to Hawkmoth's base. The window opened a hole large enough just for the two of them. Chat Blanc landed in the very center of the dark room as the butterflies flew around him.

"Well done, Chat Blanc. Now, hand over her miraculous." Chat set her down and began walking towards Hawkmoth while Marinette kept trying to pull him back. Then suddenly an idea came to mind when she remembered what she did for her battle with Dark Cupid. She got right in front of Chat Blanc and pulled him into a passionate kiss. This shocked both Chat Blanc and Hawkmoth. Chat's white outfit began to turn black again while he put Marinette's earrings back in. Marinette transformed the minute the two released each other's lips. Once transformed, the two smirked at each other then at Hawkmoth.

"The war is finally gonna end, get ready, Hawkmoth!"


	7. The short ending

Chat Noir and Ladybug slowly began to approach Hawkmoth, spinning their weapons and ready to swing. Hawkmoth glared until he pointed his cane at one of his butterflies, something dark shot out of it and the butterfly turned into an akuma then morphed into Reflekta. He did this again to multiple akuma's and Stormy weather came after, then Horrificator, Princess Fragrance, Antibug, Animan, Simon Sayz, Lady Wifi, Bubbler, Dark Cupid, every villain they had ever faced appeared behind Hawkmoth. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir were scared and knew they were outmatched, Chat Noir got in front of Ladybug to protect her as the villains all charged them at once.

"I WANT THEM ALIVE, KEEP THAT IN MIND!" Hawkmoth ordered, it didn't take long for the two heroes to become restrained.

"D-don't worry, my lady, I'll think of something!" Chat told her, all he could do was simply struggle. Hawkmoth calmly walked up to the two of them and easily snatched their miraculouses and the two reverted back to Marinette and Adrien. He was about to tuck them into his pocket until a staff was launched at him from an unknown source, knocking the earrings and ring out of his hands, followed by a yo yo, knocking the cane out from under him, causing the akuma's to self purify and turn back into white butterflies. Marinette and Adrien both looked up in the direction that said weapons had been thrown from and saw two anonymous figures standing above the glass before disappearing into the night.

"WAIT!" Marinette called, in hopes of finding out who their saviors were but all she could feel were Adrien's hands putting her earrings back on her and seeing Tikki reappear before her. They hugged then transformed. Ladybug wanted to finish the job but Chat coughed again, he had hacked up one more large blob of mysterious black liquid and looked as though something had hit him. As Ladybug began to walk towards the defeated Hawkmoth, swinging her yo-yo beside her as usual, Chat quickly jumped between them.

"Ladybug! Stop, don't hurt him!" Chat Noir pleaded, much to Ladybug's dumbfounded expression.

"Chat, get out of the way, I'm finally gonna end this whole thing!" Ladybug yelled, she continued forward but suddenly, Chat turned around to face Hawkmoth and grabbed his miraculous, revealing Nuru and Gabriel.

"Hawkmoth...is my father." He finally managed to blurt out. Ladybug was frozen and speechless the minute she laid eyes upon Gabriel and his kwami. Before she could do anything else, Chat Noir grabbed her by the waist, pulled out his staff and propelled the two out the window. The second the two made it back to the front of the Eiffel Tower where most of France's population had gathered having been convinced that that was the spot their heroes would return to, they were engulfed by the paparazzi. The two heroes finally got everything cleared up and explained and felt like there was no point in hiding their identities at this point so they transformed back in front of live television.

~The next day~

Marinette and Adrien walked into class and were immediately greeted with cheering and applause, bombarded with questions by Alya and Nino. The minute they sat down, they passed out in their seats. Tikki and Plagg left their bags to speak with everyone.

"Look, our two heroes over here are REALLY tired, they didn't get any sleep until 3 AM! So I'll ask that you please refrain from questions until after they've woken up." Tikki explained to them. Reluctantly, the students all went back to their seats.

"Please! Does anybody have any cheese? I'm staaaaarrrrviiiing!" Plagg begged and all the kids chuckled.

But one question still burned in Marinette and Adrien's minds:

 _Who exactly were those two figures that saved us?_

* * *

 **Yeah, I know this is a really short chapter, but it's also the end. I'm gonna be writing a NEW story right after this 'cause I just got an interesting idea involving Adrien and Felix! It's not gonna be a continuation, it's an entirely new premice.**


End file.
